


They say you've got a hold on me (and I won't disagree)

by glassesmcfancyhair



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: But oh boy will we get there, M/M, Self-Indulgent, Side note - Roy can read minds, There's no explicit content in this first chapter, because reasons, because she knows everything, ed still has alchemy and automail, except by me but I am wildly untrustworthy, if you've come here for something serious and well-considered then buckle up for disappointment, ignoring the parts of canon that make me sad, most of what roy's telepathy gets him is knowing when people think he's hot, riza obviously knows roy can read minds, the first chapter has now been entirely rewritten, un-edited
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25738030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glassesmcfancyhair/pseuds/glassesmcfancyhair
Summary: Edward is having fantasies about him.This is doing nothing to help the irritatingly persistent crush Roy seems to have developed on him.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Comments: 28
Kudos: 170





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> This really is just the result of me rotating through four different new meds in the span of two months and my idiot brain going "hey, what if Roy could see the super inappropriate sex dreams that Ed has about him" and so here we go. Planning to add more as I write it. Enjoy! (Or don't, you do you babes.) 
> 
> Ed is 18. Roy is... however old that would make him. Look, I came here to write pornography, not do math.
> 
> *This chapter has now been edited and rewritten, so I highly suggest checking it out before moving on to the next chapter, but you're still all people with your own hearts and minds and other bits, so the above disclaimer still applies! Like it, don't like, it's all gravy, baby.*

It started jarringly, on a surprisingly warm fall Tuesday. Edward burst into the office with his usual respect for professional decorum and slapped a hastily written report on his desk.

“Fuck you.”

“I appreciate the offer, Fullmetal, but I’m afraid I’m in a rather committed relationship with this paperwork at the moment.”

He did not need to look up to know Ed was rolling his eyes. Roy kept his attention on his desk as Fullmetal trudged over to the couch and sprawled across it, one foot on the floor, one propped on the far arm. He flung his flesh arm over his eyes and groaned.

“No more snow, Mustang.”

A brief twist of guilt flared in his stomach. It was a well-documented fact that cold played havoc with automail, especially the joints. Ed was undoubtedly in pain, and probably more pain than the casual observer would guess. Roy, who didn’t do anything casually when it came to Edward Elric, knew better. The tensed jaw, the stiff posture, how he let his prosthetic dangle off the couch because lifting it was probably a daunting endeavor – all familiar signs of significant discomfort.

“I’m sorry about that.” He said sincerely. Ed moved his arm enough to fix Roy with one eye, narrowed in suspicion. He searched Roy’s face for any hint of sarcasm, eventually deciding he wasn’t going to find it, and let his arm fall back in place.

“’S fine.” He muttered.

When it appeared that Ed was neither going to keep talking nor leave his office, Roy sighed and stood up. The sounds of movement made Ed lift his arm again, and he watched as Roy stretched and came around the desk to lean against it.

“How did it go?” Roy asked. Ed’s face crinkled in annoyance.

“I _just_ handed you the report. Don’t be so fuckin’ lazy.” There was much less heat behind his irritation these days, and this felt like perfunctory snark more than actual disapproval. Roy’s lips quirked up and he hoped Ed wouldn’t notice.

“Let me rephrase, then: how are _you_?”

Ed rewarded his concern with another single-eyed glare. When he was finally satisfied that Roy wasn’t having him on, he heaved a dramatic sigh and resumed his lounge on the sofa.

“Fine.” He replied curtly. It was an obvious lie, but Roy found that direct confrontation on this front rarely yielded satisfying results. Getting Ed to admit to a weakness, real or perceived, was damn near impossible.

“I am sorry about the cold, Edward.” Ed stiffened slightly at the use of his full name. “If I had anyone else to send, I would have.”

“I know.” Ed grumbled.

When Ed proved reluctant to say anything else, Roy retreated to his desk and decided on one last attempt to finish some of his work. Ed remained quiet for long enough that Roy forgot he was there, and it wasn’t until he sighed, shifted and his arm slid down to his chest that Roy realized he had fallen asleep. Another hot spike of guilt seared through his gut. Ed had likely come straight from the train station, and that was after the hours-long ride back. Roy was well aware that while Ed could sleep nearly anywhere, without his brother’s accompaniment he was less comfortable napping on public transit than he used to be. Roy considered waking him up and herding him off to the dorms for some proper sleep. That felt cruel and unnecessary. It also would have denied him the rare opportunity to indulge his latest terrible habit.

Staring. Specifically, staring at Edward. 

When he was conscious, Roy made sure to avoid looking too long or too hard because Ed was bright and Roy knew that if caught enough times, Edward would figure out exactly _why_ Roy was staring. Roy was not ready to deal with the fallout from that particular conversation, so instead he took what he could when he could.

It helped very little that in the past few years, Edward had gone from a pretty, highly intelligent but obstinately prickly boy to being an excruciatingly beautiful, highly intelligent and (relatively) sophisticated young man. He still had a temper, but time and life and (this one was likely the most influential factor) having his brother back in one human piece had worn down most of the rough edges. Roy even enjoyed their conversations; Ed possessed a wry sense of humor and a sharp wit, which Roy appreciated more now that he was less frequently the target of it.

All of that – the brains, the beauty, that fact that apparently Ed had been paying attention all this time, because he knew Roy’s habits and tastes, and if it had been anyone else Roy would assume it was affection, but Ed was just _like that_ with people. His clever brain accumulated and assimilated information, then put it to use. He knew how Hawkeye took her coffee and the name of Hayate’s vet. He made sure the corner deli put extra pickles in their lunch order when it was his turn to pick it up, a simple act that delighted Falman every time and Ed never mentioned. He knew about Breda’s younger sister’s new twins and Havoc’s ex-girlfriend and Fuery’s odd clock hobby. So when he silently deposited a cup of flawlessly black coffee on the corner of Roy’s desk or knew he could turn in his report this late because Roy would still be there or how he made himself a comfortable fixture on Roy’s fucking sofa, Roy knew he couldn’t read too much into it.

Which was fine. It was fine, because Ed was still astonishing and Roy was lucky to have been able to keep him this close for so long.

Ed sighed again, his back arching slightly, and Roy was hit with the most surprising mental image of his entire life.

_Roy trailed his fingers down Ed’s front to his belt. He carefully extracted Ed’s shirt from his trousers, bending down to press his lips to the newly exposed skin. Ed hummed and stretched, squinting at Roy sleepily._

_“Still not going anywhere with snow, bastard.” Ed muttered, closing his eyes and settling back into the sofa, but he made no move to push Roy away, which Roy took as permission to continue._

_“I said I was sorry about that, gorgeous.” Roy slid his hand under Ed’s shirt, running gentle fingers across hot skin until he reached the beginning of the scars on his chest. Ed sighed contentedly as Roy pressed harder, kneading fingertips into the tight tissue._

_“You’re never sorry about anything.” Ed replied. Roy crawled back over him, bracing on his free arm so he could brush his lips against Ed’s ear._

_“I would appreciate the opportunity to prove just how contrite I am.” Roy purred. He scraped his nails lightly down Ed’s front. Ed shivered, arching ever so slightly into the touch. He knew Edward enjoyed being convinced, especially somewhere as public as Roy’s office. Fortunately it was late – the team left hours ago, Roy was only still here by chance. No one around to interrupt the (wholly unprofessional, slightly unethical) tryst about to take place on the couch Roy really should have gotten rid of ages ago, and not just because it was ancient and bled on by the majority of his team. No, he should have gotten rid of it because Edward stretched across it, drowsy and warm and comfortable, proved too tempting._

_Roy reached for Ed’s belt again, unbuckling it one-handed. He slipped his hand into Ed’s trousers, reveling in the quiet little ‘oh’ that escaped Ed’s lips as his hand –_

Roy stood up fast enough to send his chair clattering to the floor. The noise startled Ed awake.

Oh no. Oh no no no _no_.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy tests his luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter two! 
> 
> Doors are locked from the outside. 
> 
> (As of 11/23/2020 the entire first chapter has been rewritten and reposted.)

When he told Riza about his ‘ability’ (the best name either of them had been able to conjure, despite it entirely failing to describe the actuality of the situation) she made him promise to keep it a secret. Once they figured out it had a range and parameters, they managed to turn it to their advantage. There had been one drunken night, early in their twenties, when Roy wondered aloud about the origin of this singular ability and Riza simply shrugged and said,

“It’s a little like alchemy, isn’t it? Some people can transmute. Some are better at it than others. You can do… that.”

Her effortless practicality was one of his favorite things about her.

Since that night, he worried less about the ‘why’. After all, reading minds came in handy when trying to dismantle a military dictatorship from within.

He couldn’t read everyone, and the people he could read had to be thinking specifically of him, and even then only if there was strong feeling behind the thought; but knowing who wanted to kill him and who wanted to fuck him (even when there was more overlap between the two than Roy cared for) made weeding out potential problems easier. Being handsome, charming and absolutely infuriating tended to provoke a reaction in most people; hell, he chose his team in part because none of them had ever invaded his thoughts.

Now here was Edward, throwing a wrench in the works of Roy’s meticulously crafted implacability.

He righted the chair and looked back just in time to see Ed open his eyes and glance around the office, landing on Roy standing behind his desk. He winced and waved vaguely towards Roy.

“Sorry.”

For one panicked moment, Roy was sure Edward was apologizing for the dream. Ed stretched and groaned, yawning widely. Of course. He was apologizing for falling asleep. Which struck Roy as mildly ridiculous, considering that Ed indulged his cat-like habit of napping in patches of sunlight anywhere they appeared in the building, and these days finding Major Elric conked out on any surface that no sane (normal-sized person) would ever use as a bed was practically a rite of passage for new privates.

“Not a problem.” His voice sounded normal, which was a pleasant surprise.

Ed rolled to his feet and scraped one hand down his face.

“Rude to keep you here this late.” Ed replied.

“It’s hardly the rudest thing you’ve ever done in my office.” Roy reminded him. He tapped the stack of files with one finger. “Besides, you weren’t the only thing keeping me here.”

Ed glared at the paperwork, sauntering over to Roy’s desk to pluck the first folder off the top. He skimmed it, then tilted his head to indicate the remainder.

“Doesn’t look like there’s anything here that can’t wait until tomorrow.” He dropped it back to the desk. “Come on, buy me dinner and tell me what I missed while I was gone.”

“Nothing happens when you’re gone.” Roy replied automatically. Ed huffed out a short laugh.

“I’m flattered to be the most exciting thing in your life, Mustang.” Ed grinned widely at Roy’s withering glare.

“I would wager that you are the primary cause of ‘excitement’ in the lives of everyone who knows you.” He replied dryly. Ed rolled his eyes, but Roy would be damned if he could describe the gesture as anything except ‘fond’.

“You’d be bored if I quit.”

“I’m sure whatever world-altering catastrophe you decided to pursue next would see our paths crossing again.”

“Because you’d go nuts stuck here without me around to keep things interesting.”

“Because I would have to arrest you for the aforementioned catastrophe.”

Ed laughed again, turning from Roy to pull his coat from the rack, which he tossed at Roy, somehow managing not to scrape the entire desk’s worth of files onto the floor when he did. Roy sighed wearily and shrugged it on.

“I suppose I’m paying.” Roy said. It wasn’t a question. In the entire time he had known Ed, he didn’t think he could recall a single instance of Ed paying for food, somehow bewitching Roy into doing it every time.

It was probably the smile. Stare into the sun long enough and things start to blur.

Roy followed Ed out, doing his best to act normal despite the utter wreck his life had instantly become.

Because Ed – Edward Elric, The People’s Alchemist, the absolute pain in Roy’s ass, the single most beautiful human being Roy had ever had the good fortune to meet, the kid who threatened God and then followed through, _that very same Edward Elric_ was having sex dreams staring Roy Mustang.

Roy wondered if Ed remembered the dream. If it was one of those random, spontaneous sex dreams where you aren’t sure what triggered it, but you do know you aren’t actually attracted to the person in it. Or if it was a habitual occurrence. If Ed thought about Roy pinning him to the sofa and slowly undressing him often enough that his brain was replaying it while he slept. Logic voted for the first; the stubbornly persistent optimism that kept him coming back to work every day insisted on the latter.

After the last and only discussion of it, Riza helped him test his ability; they documented their results in code, Riza devising a ranking system for things like clarity and intensity and a half-dozen other criteria that allowed them to test whether or not they could induce the desired thoughts. It turned out to be easier than they hoped, otherwise innocuous phrases plucked directly from fantasy triggering intense memories for their test subjects.

Roy knew Riza would not approve of what he did next.

“I appreciate the opportunity to prove how contrite I am.” He said, watching Ed closely from the corner of his eye.

They had their food, two wax paper bags loaded with kebabs from one of the only places open this late between the office and Roy’s townhouse. Ed froze mid-kebab extraction, his hand flexing, crinkling the bag. It was hard to tell in the dark, but Roy would swear he was blushing.

“What?” Ed asked, visibly shaking himself and moving quickly to catch up.

“About the snow. I know the cold is hard on the automail. Buying your dinner is the least I can do.” Roy responded mildly. Ed exhaled forcefully.

“It’s fine.” Ed said aloud.

_“If you really wanted to make it up to me, you’d buy me breakfast.”_ Ed informed Fantasy-Roy, who currently had Ed backed against the brick wall surrounding the nearest row of houses.

It seemed he had his answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but I hope you're enjoying it so far! Stay tuned for some consensual non-consent, sex in front of a fire place, and more of the obligatory office fantasies! 
> 
> This is largely being made up as I go, so there's not much of a plot, and if there's anything you are absolutely convinced Ed would fantasize about concerning Roy, feel free to point me in that direction and I'll see if I can incorporate it! 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's reading, and especially to the people who left kudos and bookmarked the fic! 
> 
> Questions? Comments? Need to scream into the abyss? There is no room for silence here.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, y'all! 
> 
> Please keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times, this ride does not stop.

Somehow they made it to Roy’s front gate before Roy realized where they were headed. He dug in his pocket for his keys and gestured with them to the door.

“Coffee?” He asked, beating down the smug little voice that told him this was a _terrible_ idea.

“Oh fuck, yes please.” Ed groaned, following Roy up the steps to the door, pushing past him once Roy got it open. Roy wondered if he could get Ed to say that again under more intimate circumstances. “It’s been weeks since I’ve had decent coffee.”

“What makes you think I have decent coffee?” Roy asked, turning to lock the door and hang up his coat. Ed followed suit, tossing his shoes near Roy’s and ignoring Roy’s exasperation as Roy situated them neatly on the shoe rack.

“All the times I broke in here to read your books.” Ed replied, turning on his heel and heading straight for the kitchen, where Roy heard him opening cabinets and turning on the sink.

“All the times you _what_?” Roy practically shouted, coming to a stunned halt in the doorway.

Edward had the large silver tin where Roy kept his imported beans, a tiny indulgence Roy allowed himself, out of its place in the back of the pantry and was rooting through it, examining labels. Upon finding one he wanted, he set about making coffee like he had done it a million times before – which he apparently _had_ , and Roy was struck with a sudden realization.

“You’re the coffee mouse!” Roy accused.

There had been a stretch of nearly three months where Roy was absolutely convinced that he was losing his mind. He used to keep his expensive coffee on the highest shelf in the pantry, until one day he came home and a bag was on the ground, half the contents spilled across the floor. Worried about mice, Roy relocated the beans to a sealed tin in the back corner of the pantry, which did nothing to stop coffee from going missing. At first, Roy assumed he was drinking more than usual – it happened from time to time, when the memories became a little too loud or the house was a little too quiet and sleep proved impossible. When he got himself back on a somewhat regular schedule, however, it seemed like he was still using up his coffee faster than he should be, and he had no explanation for the increased consumption. Until now.

Ed shot an amused look over his shoulder.

“The coffee mouse?”

Roy huffed. “It was the best explanation I could come up with as to why my coffee kept disappearing.” 

Ed had the grace to look embarrassed.

“Yeah, I could never quite reach high enough to put it back. When you never said anything, I figured you just didn’t care.”

“I _didn’t know_.” Roy stressed. “How on earth was I supposed to conclude that one of my subordinates was breaking into my home to drink my coffee and read my books?!”

“Huh. I really thought me making an extra pot of coffee every day for six weeks would have done it, but….” Ed trailed off, holding one finger up as a silent instruction for Roy to wait. He flipped the switch on the coffee pot and breezed past Roy. He went straight to the library door and flung it open, making a beeline for one of the shelves. He stopped to run his fingers across a few spines, searching for something and finding it a moment later. He pulled a book off the shelf and held it out to Roy, who had drifted after him to watch in stunned silence. When Roy didn’t take the book, Ed flipped it open and held the pages up for Roy to read.

The book’s margins were filled with Edward’s very familiar handwriting. Roy stared at it, utterly baffled.

“I also left you… a lot of notes.”

Roy closed his eyes, wondering how much of his carefully curated collection was now a one-of-a-kind Elric Annotated Edition.

“Edward…” He growled, and knew his tone was a mistake the second it rumbled through his chest.

_“Edward, I don’t believe I gave you permission to deface my book collection.” Roy purred, close enough that his breath ruffled the fine hairs at Ed’s temple. He leaned forward, arms caging Ed in from behind._

_“’Deface’ makes it sound like I’m ruining them. I’m_ correcting _them.” Ed insisted with more bravado than he felt. Roy’s nose brushed his cheek; he froze. Roy moved one hand behind him, sliding the tie from his hair and combing long fingers through it. Then, he twisted Ed’s hair around his hand and forced his head back, tilting his face up so Roy could look directly in his eyes. Roy was furious, that much Ed could see, but beyond the anger was a dark hunger that thrilled him, made lightning race down his spine and sparks dance across his skin._

_“Apologize.” Roy commanded. Ed squirmed. Roy tightened his grip. Ed gasped, not entirely from pain._

_“Make me.” Ed whispered. He meant to snarl it, meant to meet Roy’s anger spark for spark, but with Roy’s hand in his hair and Roy’s scent filling his nose and Roy looking at him like he wanted to beat him or fuck him or both, Ed couldn’t bring himself to snap. If he did, Roy might stop and that was the last thing he wanted._

_Roy grinned, baring his teeth. There was another tug on his hair and Ed was pulled from the chair and turned, pressed back against the desk. Roy stepped forward, pushing the chair out of the way to press his body against Ed’s._

_“Is that what you want, Edward? For me to put you in your place?” Roy planted a gentle kiss on Ed’s neck. He immediately followed it up with a hard bite. “For me to make you do as you’re told?”_

_Ed whimpered and struggled, halted when Roy twisted his fist, tightening his grip on Ed’s hair._

“How many of my books, Edward?” Roy began rifling the shelves, pulling down books at random to fan through them, doing his best to ignore Ed’s thoughts.

“Only the ones that were wrong!” He insisted. “Or the ones written by idiots.”

“ _Ed_.” Roy groaned. Ed thought everyone, save his darling little brother, was an idiot. It was now extremely likely that his entire library was compromised. He had no doubt that Ed was right, that his additions were corrections, but it was the principle of the thing. You don’t just _scribble_ in other people’s books.

“I didn’t ruin them, I just made corrections!” Ed insisted again, his lips turned down in the beginnings of a very specific angry-pout that he only pulled out when he was utterly certain in his own correctness but the people around him insisted on disagreeing with him. Roy sighed. He hated that pout, had seen it plenty of times and still had no defense against it, because he learned a long time ago that Ed never set out to be malicious. He could be stubborn and oblivious and contrary, but never cruel. It made a certain kind of sense, even, that Ed assumed Roy knew. Roy spent his entire career making people believe he knew more than he let on, and Ed was constantly on the other end of his smug overconfidence; it was not much of a leap to think that Roy would have picked up on someone breaking into his house every day for weeks on end. The fact that he hadn’t noticed was actually quite embarrassing. Roy sighed again.

“It’s fine.”

Ed narrowed his eyes.

“Ok, but is this an ‘it’s fine’ like that time where I ‘mishandled’ those reports and it really was fine, or ‘fine’ like the time you said it was fine just to get me out of your office because it really wasn’t fine and you were mad at me for weeks?”

Roy blinked slowly at him. Ed bristled, clearly gearing up for a fight. A few years ago, Roy would have happily obliged. He should be angrier about this. Livid, even. But something about the idea of Edward curled up silently in his library, secretly combing through his books, delighted him. The fact that Ed felt safe enough to choose his home to steal a few precious hours to himself melted away any energy he had for an argument.

“It’s actually fine.” Roy considered reshelving the books he pulled out. It sounded exhausting. Hopefully Ed felt guilty enough to do it for him before he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me all the good brain chemicals, which make me write faster.


End file.
